EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,902 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions were worth $146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,723 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $126,940,000 after purchasing an additional 978,579 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,985,816 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,928,405,000 after buying an additional 867,176 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,784,668 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $214,141,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,748,982 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $211,369,000 after acquiring an additional 628,970 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,921,900 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $224,694,000 after acquiring an additional 443,536 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $80.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. has a 52 week low of $63.79 and a 52 week high of $90.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CTSH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.